Camping
by akumbricwitch
Summary: Elphaba asked Fiyero along to search for the missing Cub, but the prince's mind is not exactly on the Animal...


"I don't believe this!" Her arms were in the air, frustration written all over her face.

"What's so hard to believe?"

"That… that…" she clenched her teeth and fists. "How could you forget?"

"I didn't forget. You didn't tell me." Fiyero was not that far off from losing his temper either.

"Which part of 'we are going to look for the Cub over the weekend' did you not understand?" Her hands were on her hips now.

"I understand that completely. Look. Cub. Weekend."

"And how many days is there in a weekend?"

"Two."

"And how many nights?"

"One."

"There you go." She waved her arm. "Thank goodness. For a moment I thought that you have no idea what a weekend is, since it seems that you usually get yourself so drunk on Friday night that the it is usually Monday morning when you next open your eyes."

"Come on, Elphaba. Don't be so sarcastic. Just because you caught me once still hungover on Monday does not mean that I am drunk every weekend. And just because the Wizard no longer wants to see you does not mean that you should lash out at me."

"The – how did you know?" Her eyes widened, and it seemed that she had forgotten that she was mad at him barely five seconds ago.

Ooops.

"Know what?" He put on his most charming smile.

"That the Wizard invited me to go to the Emerald City. And – " the disappointment in her voice was palpable. "and that he withdrew it."

Fiyero took a step toward her.

"It's not the end of the world. I'm sure there will be another chance."

"Maybe," she sounded unconvinced. "So how did you know?"

"Maybe Galinda told me?"

"Galinda? No way. She'll never betray him."

Fiyero laughed. "Ignore my existence."

"Her words, not mine."

"Can't blame her. I was the one who break up with her after all."

"So Madame Morrible told you. But why would she?"

"Because I am charming?" He flashed his megawatt smile at her again.

"Did you seduce her?" Her hands flew to her mouth, surprised by the way her mouth shoot off without thinking.

"Of course not! What makes you think that I will seduce someone who is thrice as old as me? I wouldn't touch her with a pole even if she's the last woman on Oz. I have much better taste than that." He huffed.

She lowered her hands. "Well, she did enrol you despite your non-existent grades."

"Oz." Fiyero racked his hand through his hair in frustration. "What makes you think that seduction is the answer to everything? Cannot enrol into a school? Seduce the head mistress. Cannot do a project? Seduce a classmate. Fail a subject? Seduce the teacher."

"I didn't say that." She spread her hands wide in apology.

"You may not say it but I'm sure you've thought about it." He swore again. "For your information, I have not seduced anyone since I've come to Shiz." He raised a finger before she could interject. "Flirt, yes. Seduce, no. I got in because –"

Elphaba waved her hand and head at the same time. "Oh no, I don't need to know the details."

"Yes, you do. I got in because my parents donated a large sum of money to the school. That's how we got the funds for the new building."

Elphaba had no idea how much money was needed to build a whole new building, but she was pretty sure it was not insignificant. "Oh," was all she could say.

He blew put a breath, his hands stuffed into his pocket.

There was a lengthy silence.

"So…" he gestured at the thing on the ground with his foot. "So what are we going to do about this?" It was a sleeping bag. Elphaba's.

The fire that he had started earlier that night was dying, and Fiyero could see the way Elphaba frowned in the dim light.

"You can have it." She decided.

"What?" He looked at her in surprise. "But it's your sleeping bag."

"Yes, it's mine. But I'm the one who wants to search for the Cub, and it's partly my fault that I didn't tell you that we will not be returning to Shiz each night."

"Then what about you?" he asked.

Elphaba waved at the open space around them. "I'll just find a space to sleep."

Fiyero picked up the sleeping bag and shoved it at her. "No, you take it. It's your sleeping bag. And I'm the one who didn't bring one. It is my fault that I assume that we won't be spending the night in the forest. I'll sleep on the ground. I've hunted in the grassland before and slept on the forest ground before. It's not a big deal."

"Really? You've done it before?"

"Of course. Don't you look down on me. I'm an Arjiki after all."

"Really?" she asked again, disbelief shown all over her face. It made him want to prove her wrong even more.

"Really. Go ahead. I'll be fine. Unless you want to share your sleeping bag with me."

"Lurline no!"

Fiyero chuckled at her explosive reaction.

"Goodnight then," he said as he ostentatiously found a spot a few feet from her that looked free of insects and sat down.

"You're not sleeping?" she asked.

He gestured at her sleeping bag, still rolled up in her arms. "I'll wait while you set up your bag. Just in case there're insects inside and you need rescuing." He said teasingly.

Elphaba rolled her eyes.

She unrolled her sleeping bag, turning it left and right before turning part of it inside out like a magician so that he could that it was free of insects before she laid it on the ground with a flourish.

"No insects," she declared as she got into the sleeping bag. He chuckled at the mock severity.

"Good night, Fiyero."

He gave her a bow and settled down on his self-designated grassy patch of bed.

"You sure you will be alright?" she asked, worry creeping back into her voice.

"Absolutely sure," he said as he closed his eyes, his hands behind his head.

"Thank you, Fiyero."

"One more comment, Elphie, and I'll join you in your bag."

"Don't call me Elphie."

"See, you're speaking again."

"Sorry." He could hear from the change in the tone of her voice that she had covered her mouth again. He visualised the green girl in his mind, her green hand covering her grey mouth, her eyes wide though she could not see anything in the almost darkness, her glasses still perched on her nose.

"Are you still wearing your glasses?" he asked.

"Oh, I forgot."

"See? You're talking again. You really do want me with you."

"Oz, Fiyero. You did ask me a question!" she hissed.

He chuckled at how easy she could be provoked.

"Alright, alright. Goodnight Elphaba."

"MmMm, MmMmMmm."

He laughed softly at her response.

Elphaba lay in her sleeping bag. It was not as warm as her bed in Shiz and she could feel some of the cold weeping in, but it was definitely better than sleeping on the cold, hard ground. She cast a worried look at Fiyero's direction, but it seemed that he had fallen asleep, though there was no snoring to be heard. Perhaps he was so perfect that he did not even snore when he sleep.

She tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position that would let her forget about the cold when she heard a sound behind her.

A sneeze.

She froze.

Followed by another.

Did animals or Animals sneeze like human?

And then sniffing.

"Fiyero, are you alright?" she called as she turned around to face him again.

He replied with a sneeze.

She sat up. "You're catching a cold."

"No I'm – ahhhh choo." He sneezed again.

She should really be generous. She should offer him the sleeping bag and then sleep on the forest ground. And that was if he agreed to this arrangement. She pulled the fabric of the bag around her as the prince sneezed again.

"Fiyero?"

It took a while before he replied, sniffing. "I'm fine." He sneezed again.

"No, you're not. If you continue like this, you'll have a fever before dawn comes. You won't be able to help me to look for the Cub. We'll have to give up and go back to Shiz." He sneezed twice when she spoke.

"No, I won't – " he sneezed again. "I won't take your sleeping bag from –" and he sneezed again.

"Will you join me then?" She offered before her brain had the chance to tell her that it was a bad idea. A really, bad idea.

"What?" She could hear the surprise in his voice. And then there was a silence, punctuated by another sneeze.

Elphaba could feel her face flushing. What was she thinking? But the prince sneezed again, and she pushed that thought aside.

"Are you coming, or are you waiting for me to change my mind?" she asked. The prince did not need to be told again.

"Coming," he said, scrambling towards her on his hands and knees.

It took the prince some time to reach her, and she was surprised that he did so without stumping his fingers on anything.

"Can you see in the dark?" she asked as he pulled aside the cover of the sleeping bag.

"Abit, though there is still a bit of light," he admitted. "Arjikis have terribly good night vision. Maybe - Ouch!" He knocked his head against Elphaba's in his haste to get into the sleeping bag.

"That hurts!" But she could not help laughing. So much for his terribly good night vision.

He rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She said, a hand to her mouth. The prince mumbled something.

He turned to the campfire, and picking up a stick, he poked at the pile a few times until there was a significant glow. No way was he going to trip again if he got up in the middle of the night for a pee.

The bag was obviously too small for them to lie down on their backs, even with their shoulders touching, and Elphaba had to shift and turn before she found a position that allowed Fiyero to squeeze in completely. The bag strained around their shoulders, and Fiyero thought that he could hear a seam tearing slowly.

"Come here," he said as he put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Elphaba yelped in surprise.

"Don't worry, I'm not seducing you. We need to stay close else your sleeping bag will burst its seams. I'm not going to get out into the cold again, not after the effort to squeeze into this bag."

"You were cold," she surmised.

"Yeah, miserable weather outside of this sleeping bag," he finally admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought you are used to sleeping in the forest." She was a bit furious at him for lying. What if she had not offered her sleeping bag. Would she find him frozen to death in the morning?

"Yes, we sleep in the open when we go hunting, but we will bring along fur as rugs, and we wear thick clothing with leather and boots, not just shirt and pants."

"You should have told me."

"And miss the chance of hearing you begging me to join you in bed?"

"Lurline, Fiyero! I didn't beg!"

Fiyero laughed, his chest rumbling. "Alright, you didn't. I came on my own accord, me poor little fool, begging for some warmth." There was the undeniable affection in his voice.

Elphaba smiled in the dark.

"You know, actually I was feeling a bit cold just now too."

He snuggled a bit closer. "And now?"

Her hands were between them, and she could feel the fabric of his shirt her fingertips. Maybe she imagined it, but she could feel his warmth, smell the remnants of his aftershave, and it made her want to borrow into his chest, burying her face in the crook of his neck, warm and comfortable in his arms.

"Much better now." It was a half-truth.

Her fingers reached out, reaching for the hem of shirt and curled it around a finger. She wondered if he could feel the tug of the fabric. She wanted to pull her hand back, to break the contact, but her hand refused to obey the message from her brain.

Traitors.

"Thank you for sharing your sleeping bag," Fiyero said, oblivious to her discomfort, or maybe he was fully aware and was thoroughly enjoying it.

She took a deep breath.

"I should be the one thanking you," she said, trying to start a conversation so that her mind would be drawn away from her thoughts. "You could have spent your weekend enjoying yourself with your friends. Instead you are stuck here with me in the middle of the forest, searching for an Animal."

"I am spending my weekend with a friend," Fiyero told her.

"You don't have to pretend…"

"I don't have to what?"

"I mean." She released the fabric that was around her finger in surprise; she had not expected such a strong reaction from him. "I mean, you don't have to, you know, pretend that you're my friend, now that you and Galinda …"

"That we've broken up? And what do you mean by pretend? I didn't realise that I must be dating her before we can be friends?" He sounded a bit cross and took a deep breath after the statement.

"I do consider you as a friend you know," he added, his voice calmer. "Even though we don't usually talk or hang around. It's comforting to know that the smartest girl in school is my friend."

Her hand that had inched halfway across the narrow space between them paused.

"Because she can help you with your homework?" she asked softly, unable to help the way the words weighed her heart down like a rock.

"Of course not," he replied laughingly. "Just that it's good to know that I am not so stupid that I can't even engage in a normal conversation with the smartest girl in school. It's boring when you know that every girl who talks to you is more interested in the package that that you have below than what you have up there."

"The package that you have – ohhh." Fiyero chuckled at the change in her tone when she realised what he was referring to.

She let his laughter died down before she changed the topic. "So how did you find out that the Wizard has withdrawn his invitation?"

Fiyero took a deep breath before he confessed. "I got the information from Madam Morrible's assistant."

"How – "

"Oz, Elphaba, are you assuming that I seduced her for this information?" Fiyero laughed again. His hand went to her elbow, cradling it comfortably. "What makes you think that seduction is my answer to everything? I just need to be friendly to her. No one listens to her, and she is more than happy to talk to someone. For your information, I have not seduced any girl since I join Shiz. And I don't need to."

"I wish that someone would though," he added.

"Someone? Any girl you mean?" Her fingers reached the cottony fabric of his shirt, still crumpled from her twisting earlier on. Her hand sneaked on.

"No, not anyone," he said, shaking his head as much as he could in his position. "Just someone – " Her traitorous fingers touched his flat stomach, under his shirt, and he suddenly broke off.

Her fingers froze.

"You were saying?" she asked innocently.

His eyes widened, and he looked down before looking back at her again.

"I … I can't remember," he confessed, his voice soft. "I got … distracted."

She could not help but slid her hand to his waist, her thumb careesing his skin, feeling the way his breath hitched. Fiyero's arm slid up her elbow to her shoulder, pulling her closer.

"Am I intruding?" she asked, her hand going to his back, her fingers splayed.

"I…" he could not find the words, and Elphaba could not help but chuckled.

She lifted her face just as he lowered his, and she recoiled at the cold that she felt.

"You're cold." Elphaba laughed when she realised what was the cold that she felt.

He laughed at her reaction, and rubbed at his cold nose, and then his hand reached for hers and placed it on his chest. The feeling of his muscles under his shirt against her palm stopped her laughter.

He leaned in again, brushing against her.

"What about now?" He asked after a while.

It took her a moment to find an answer.

"That's not your nose."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "No," he said. He trailed a finger along her jaw, and he felt her sharp intake of breath.

"Not my nose," he teased her and brushed his lips against hers and heard her shuddered breath.

"Fiyero, did you have a concussion?" But her hand was moving on its own accord again, sliding up to his shoulder.

He chuckled as he shifted so that he was hovering over her, his arm resting on each side of her. "Maybe I do."

"Maybe I am having a concussion too. Concussion can cause hallucinations."

"Really?" he asked, before he kissed her again, his tongue sweeping against her lips, teasing her. She parted her lips, and he slipped his tongue, tasting her, hearing her soft moans as her hand moved to his head and clutched his hair. "I didn't know that hallucinations can be this good."

Elphaba did not know how to answer. She closed her eyes and let her hands moved on their own, holding onto his shoulders, pulling him close to her again. He nudged her gently with a knee, parting her legs slightly and settled comfortably between them. Elphaba's hand moved down to his hips, cupping his butt and he groaned at the pleasure that he felt as he rubbed himself against her groin. Next time he would bring a bigger camping tent complete with rugs and pillows, he promised himself.

"I should have come camping with you much earlier," he confessed, and kissed her again when he heard her soft giggles.

He kissed her jaw, her neck, wanting to move lower and hook her leg around his waist, but as he moved his elbow back he could hear a tearing sound.

The sound was loud enough for Elphaba to open her eyes too.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting up, and then they looked at each other in horror. They were no longer lying on the ground but sitting up.

Fiyero looked around him. There was a large rip across the front of the sleeping bag, from the opening to halfway down. A hole large enough for a person to crawl through, large enough for the cold to seep through, and definitely large enough to cause them plenty of discomfort for the rest of night.

"Fiyero!"


End file.
